Singapore October 2016 : Part 2 (Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 6)

Hey hey!

April has been pretty crazy for me, if you follow me on Instagram then you'd know that i've been crazy busy! Loads of events that i need to cover but i am pretty adamant about bringing balance back to this blog so back to back event reports.... Is a no no for me!

Since Arman actually said that he couldn't wait to read about USS Halloween Horror Nights 6 (the sole reason on why we went to Singapore last October in the first place), i decided to snuck some time in to finally write about it (it's 6 months too late probably, but also 6 months in advance in case you want to go to Halloween Horror Nights 7 this October and want to know if it's worth your money and time). 

Before we even start, let me tell you one thing : yes, it's worth every penny. LOL.

Selfie before we start our adventure. And yep, i saw the pink flashing furry tiara at the entrance and i immediately want it >.< so hunny bought one for me, naturally :p

So i'm pretty sure that you've heard of Universal Studios' annual Halloween event? I didn't even know this before but it seems to be happening in quite a few Universal Studios all around the world-last year was the 6th time it was happening in Singapore's Universal Studios and i've been dying to experience it since the first one but it's a bit hard for a stingy pot like me to spend so much on a trip (you know, the flight tickets, the hotel rooms) just for a visit to a theme park. But you know i am a true blue horror fan *even though i am quite easily spooked so it's quite ironic really*, every year i'd get heartache whenever another Halloween Horror Nights passed :(...  Finally last year i decided to pull the trigger because i'm not getting any younger and i need to do it before i get too old to enjoy it!

Lady Death is the icon this year

I already planned the whole thing from home, we're staying in our own condo in Singapore for the trip but i booked a room in Siloso Beach Resort (honestly because it's the cheapest hotel i could find in Sentosa island, but it's still nowhere near cheap okay-it's a pretty nice hotel though) for the actual night we're going to the Horror Night because the event only starts after the park closes down and last until... 12.30 or 1.30 AM depending on the night you decide to go there. I want to have a full experience of the event, and i definitely want to get into every single one of the haunted houses, transportation back to our condo in East Coast would be hard to find and taxi ride's rate would be ridiculously high so why not spend a little more for a hotel room in Sentosa instead? This way we won't even have to be worried about getting back to town!

We came to Sentosa pretty early after having a heavy Korean BBQ lunch in town (just about time that we could check in), that combined with the fact we had a pretty early start of the day made us pretty tired so we actually had a little nap because we had a few hours to kill before the event started.

I was super hyped that i dragged hunny to USS right about the time the event's about to start (it's a few stops aways from our hotel so we had to take the tram). The queue was quite worrying >.<.

I wanted one picture with the sign but was not willing to spend forever waiting for the other visitors to scram so whatever, i just stand in front of these girls :p. Oh yeah, since it's very very dark (well, it's a Halloween event-what do you expect?), the quality of the photos are quite horrible. We're simply clueless when it comes to setting our camera so even though it's a mirrorless and quite good, we ended up getting quite shitty pics *LOL*. The shittier ones were taken using my Oppo tho haha. I also don't have THAT much photos since we really want to enjoy the experience instead of worrying about taking pictures-plus there are no photos allowed in the haunted houses anyway. I will be linking a blog post from one of their official bloggers (i think, since he got to take such close up, clear photos of the actors and haunted houses) for you later so you can see details of the haunted houses

People rushing in

Special merchandises for the event. We bought the bloodied tumbler because we love mementos and because it was damn hot we had to hydrate somehow (our maids keep on telling us that they couldn't clean the red liquids in the tumbler... and that's hilarious!)

Obviously majority of the visitors are on the younger side, teenagers and people in their early 20s... I do feel a bit old to be there but oh well...

It feels a bit weird to be in the park while it's so dark because usually we'd be leaving the park as it's only getting dark!

Another thing that i didn't know-that we couldn't enter the park and explore immediately, we were stopped to see the Scaremony with a DJ spinning some tracks

People started dancing and shouting-it suddenly turned into a rave and again, i immediately feel ancient *LOL* (not even old already >.<). I would probably enjoy it more if we were with more friends, but since there were just the two of us... I kinda just want it to be over *LOL*.

It's actually pretty cool, but we were just too far back and i couldn't really see anything >.<

As soon as the scaremony's over, people started running and that made me feel like we're supposed to run too *LOLOLOL*. According to a guide i read, we're supposed to go to the Suicide Forrest first (i didn't know why and i still don't know why!)

Photo from Google

Apparently there are haunted houses and there are scare zones. Suicide Forrest is one of the two scare zones-i have no idea why they are called scare zones because the "ghosts" there are less likely to scare you than the ones that are in the haunted houses. In fact, it feels like a mild appetizer because the haunted houses are INTENSE!

I heard that this scare zone is inspired by THE suicide forrest, Aokigahara in Japan but just in the decor and concept i guess because it's filled with various ghosts and mainly seems to be the typical South East Asian ghosts.

This little girl holding her doll is very quiet, but super eerie. She just shadows you around and stare at you... I like her. She waved silently when we were leaving after asking to take a photo with her *LOL*

This black apparition that keeps on moving so fast we could only snap blurs

Hunny actually asked me to take his pic with this dude

He very rarely asks for his picture taken so i made sure to snap a few haha

Me pretending to be freaked out-but i was actually quite freaked out *LOL*

Since there are no limit of the number of visitors at one go at the scare zones, and because it's an open space-it makes it a lot less intimidating than the haunted houses (which are quite cramped so you can't really get away from the ghosts). There were so much more of us (the visitors) than the ghosts so i felt quite safe *LOL*. If i brought Little O to the event (which i wouldn't. He would start bawling in front of the haunted houses), i would only feel safe to bring him to the scare zones coz they're the least intense haha. Be informed that the recommended age for the event is 13, even though i did see a few younger kids who are probably around Little O's age. I mean, i would love to go there even when i was 7 coz i was always a pretty strange kid *LOL* so it really depends on the kid and their interests-i wouldn't judge the parents who brought their young kids in.

Read and see more details on Suicide Forrest here.

And then we finally get to the haunted houses. I can't remember the exact sequence of the 5 haunted houses we went to because it's been half a year WTF, so i'm just gonna go randomly... (i only remember the last one because it was the most memorable for me) 

Old Changi Hospital, photo from Google

So this one is based on a real, supposedly very haunted, place in Singapore. It is said to be the scariest haunted house of the 5, and it was very intense-as i think this was the first one we went to, everything was a bit of a blur for me... Adrenaline rush at its best *LOL*. Mainly because i didn't know what to expect, and i really didn't think it would be so scary... And it totally was! Personally i found it to be the second scariest tho. Favorite part would be the morgue and a very smart body storage trick!

Most of the ghosts are the typical you can find in hospitals, you know... doctors... nurses, patients (one particular patient looked so grotesque i was very fascinated!) and Japanese soldiers (make sense, since the actual old Changi Hospital is from that era). 

We were in awe after we left the old Changi Hospital,  a little shook (okay, a lot. At one point hunny actually knocked his own glasses off his face because of the sheer adrenaline rush *LOL*) and crazy pumped.

Hu Li's Inn, photo from Google

This is the only place where we managed to snap a pic of the entrance.

The reason being : the queue was INSANE. Actually i think this was the third haunted house we went to, and we had to queue the longest here. It was more than an hour of queue for sure. The queue twists here and there, snaked around and round... I was actually getting very tired and sleepy while queueing here. 

The queue was so bad because they had to wait for the first scene (of Hu Li being all normal and pretty, singing for us in her bar one minute and turn scary the next) to be over for every group before a new group can enter. The scene is very precise and every time a new horde of visitor enter, they need to assembly the scene to "normal" again and that definitely takes time while in the other haunted houses, the actor just need to stay in character at all time and visitors can always get in without having to wait for a certain scene to be done.

I find this one not very scary (but i have a weird fear of actors in scary costumes. Like, i know they're actors playing scary creatures, but i can't help but react in fear when they get close to me. The actors are all very good, they got into the character so well and they sense fear in you *LOL*. They will go in to attack if you show the slightest sign of fear-obviously they all went to disturb me and leave hunny pretty much alone all night long zzz. I actually got accidentally scratched by one of the actors in Hu Li's Inn because she was disturbing me and i was flailing my hand around *LOL*) but very fascinating. I just have very specific things which i am scared of like ghosts, demons and morbid stuffs. Shapesifters, vampires and zombies are not things i am worried about, until i visited the last haunted house-that is.

Hu Li's Inn is very fascinating, the details and makeup are awesome-and you'll see pretty girls before they shapeshifts...But it's definitely more of Chinese folklore creatures than anything else.

Body of Work, photo from Google

Now this one is the third scariest for me, Body of Work is also not traditionally scary for me because it's more like a morbid freak show/art show of some sort. The scariest part was the entrance where you can see in the photo above of a shrine with photos, real flowers and candles. It just looks so REAL that it's very disturbing. Again, this is very fascinating for me because as an East Asian with still very strong tradition and superstition beliefs, it's just fascinating for me to see something so taboo actually used in a haunted house.

This one is styled like an exhibition of human's body parts and also scary creatures/monsters. I don't find it as scary as Old Changi Hospital because the main characters are portrayed more as monsters (which i don't believe in) instead of ghosts. Still very interesting tho, and the twisted carousel... it's totally awesome. Ofc they decided to pop the jumping alien creature to MY face out of the 10 or 20 people that got in together with us, that's only expected....

Salem Witch House, photo from Google

This one is the least scary one. Lots of the actors here are Caucasian and for some reasons i find Caucasian ghosts or creatures are a lot less scary than Asian ones-maybe it's just the culture that i've been raised with *LOL*. The witches are actually really pretty (not as pretty as the shape shifters in Hu Li's Inn but that's maybe me being biased with me liking Oriental looks more) but i still recoil in horror when they came at me and pretend to claw *LOL*. I can't help it okay, i'm dramatic and easily freaked!

The place is a real treat for the eyes tho, there's this particular part which is very white, very surreal and you get very confused because it's the total opposite of the majority of the haunted houses (which are naturally very dimly lit)-it's also very cooly named Witch's Realm. This haunted house is totally worth visiting if only for that room! And i find the queue for Salem Witch House to be the shortest!

The last but not least :

Hawker Centre Massacre, photo from Google

This one is my favorite, mainly because the place was crazily detailed and the actors are so much more active and provocative! Well, this also means that i got super scared (to a point that i was almost in tears... This only happened to me twice in haunted houses in all my life and i've been to a lot a lot!) but that's the whole point on going to these kind of places, right???

The "Hawker Centre" was massive, and shaped like a maze-i actually feel like it's more than just a hawker centre and more like a whole market because there were also a lot of "shops", including a flower shop with real flowers (which smells remind me of funeral houses FML). The actors come and roar at you, often time blocks your way and pretend to pick a fight (which is a little too realistic since i heard there were some incidents between an actor and some ah-bengs days earlier until the ah-beng gets thrown out and there's now a sign telling you that it is the actor's job to be provocative and you will be banned if you get physical with them. Like most modern day haunted houses, the actors will NOT touch you and you also have to refrain from touching them as well).

The storyline is about an outbreak in the hawker center, so it's more of zombies... Which i don't normally find scary. It's just the atmosphere and the actors doing such a GOOD job making me feel super freaked in there. The place was super realistic too, like... You can just step in there and believe that you really are standing in an old style hawker center and all the hawker center uncles and aunties had became flesh eating zombies. 

Since i obviously couldn't take pictures inside the haunted houses (and i don't want to even if i can. I don't think i physically can grab a camera and snap a picture anyway, i simply got super scared alright! And i screeched all night long, i'm not even a screamer! As in i never scream watching horror movies, and i don't scream much playing jet coasters and the likes! My throat was raw and my voice hoarse at the end of the night), if you want to see more of what's inside every single one of the haunted houses, i strongly recommend checking out this article! I would also recommend visiting Dejiki's blog and read even more details and review of the event!

That's all five of the haunted houses, but i still have a few more things to show you.

The Death March, which is USS' first night time theatrical procession

It's inspired by Dia de los Muertos

Again i find it very intriguing and fascinating the fact that they are using pretty much real (glass) coffin in the parade... So taboo, so morbid... So cool! LOL

The parade is super cool alright! Very serious, very sombre, very dramatic. I'm not much of a parade person, i wouldn't even wait for Disney's parades and opt to continue playing because it's just not my cup of tea (as well as queuing for a photo op with park's icons) but i really like this one! Does that make me sound even stranger? Oh well...

Speaking of rides, some of the rides are available during the event but we weren't in the least interested to play. We also didn't stop for dinner but we did grab some turkey's leg to share!

The last thing i wanna show is this second scare zone (which is even less scary than Suicide Forest)

March of the Dead, photo from Google

Obviously in conjunctions with the Dead March, this area is more of a photo op in my opinion.

Okay this just makes me look extra short and stumpy, but whatever

The purple, blue lighting makes it hard to take a nice pic, sorry!

But the decor and details are definitely gorgeous!

The actors are still working hard tho, after asking for this pic, the lady (who reminds me of  Enchantress) suddenly clawed at me, i obligedly screech and duck, obvi

I look pregnant in this pic, but i swear i don't even have big tummy in real life -____- huge arms and thunder thighs yes, not big tum in any way tho. Anyway, i actually ran in when i saw the "Defeo" witch on stage for photo op -___- (and ran out when the photo sellers weren't looking coz i hate saying no and i aint paying for those quick print photos they took of us :p) . If i saw celebrities, i would walk away in disgust if you ask me to take a pic with them, but horror characters? I would chase them *LOL*

And that's my story about out experience in Universal Studios Singapore's Halloween Horror Nights 6! It was a very cool, very surreal, adrenaline inducing night, worth every penny (which was SGD 65 per person? But they were having a credit card promotion and we paid SGD 55 per person instead) and me limping and half crawling on the way back (and the ridiculous taxi fare back to the hotel) after walking and queueing for more than 5 hours. I would highly HIGHLY recommend experiencing this at least once in your life if you're a big horror fan! Would i come back another year? Definitely! Not just as a couple though, i would come back if i have more companies because it's best enjoyed with a group of fun loving friends! Anyone wanna go with me next year? (I won't be returning this year because i have way too many trips planned already)

It's about time that i post something cute in this post *LOL* (talking about the Minion and not me :p)

#Pink